Martin Luther's significance for the development of our written language has long been disputed and ultimately remains unclear. On one hand, Luther's language was considered dead by around 1600, while on the other hand, he was stylized as a creator of language. Both views are incorrect. The active linguistic research of the last 50 years leads to the following conclusions: Luther is embedded in the electoral Saxon writing tradition of Wittenberg. Linguistically, he is thus positioned more in the center than in the south, in Upper German. From this foundation, his Bible translation gains high authority and enormous dissemination. It is characterized by his new translation maxim and his linguistic power. The German of his Bible is arguably the most important guiding factor in the recent history of the German language.